Trapped Minds
by Jetblack595
Summary: The BAU team wake up to unfamiliar surroundings and a challenge - I'm terrible at summaries but a general whole-BAU kidnapping fic because I love them and I don't think there are enough of them out there. Rated K for now because I'm not sure how much violence I'll include in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

When Aaron Hotchner was jolted awake, it took him only a few seconds to realise he wasn't where he was supposed to be. First of all, he was sitting, straight-backed on a hard surface –the pain in his back and neck told him that he'd been like this for a while. Secondly, the jolt that had awakened him wasn't hard to identify, especially for someone who travelled as often as he did. It was the landing of a plane, or more likely a helicopter, as it hadn't been as smooth as the landings he was used to. He tried to look around, and felt his head rush. His vision went blurry, and he quickly tried to steady himself. He'd been drugged; he knew that much, but how, or by whom, was another story. Naturally, Aaron tried to recall what he'd been doing before he blacked out. The last thing he could remember was leaving the BAU with the rest of the team…

A thought struck him, and he began to panic. Where were the others? Had they been taken too? Were they awake? Having no choice this time, Aaron lifted his head to look around, only to be terrified by the sight in front of him. Agent Rossi lay slumped against the opposite wall of the helicopter. To Dave's right, Agent Prentiss had her head cocked to the side, resting against the back of the seat. She would have almost looked peaceful, if the direness of their situation hadn't been weighing on Hotch's mind. But the worst of it all, was turning to his left, and locking eyes with an awake – and terrified – Penelope Garcia. Hotch could see her chest rising and falling rapidly, and almost immediately knew she was in the first stages of a panic attack. And Hotch understood exactly why – she must have been the first to wake, first to take in the situation, seeing her co-workers unconscious in a landing helicopter, in God knows what part of the world. Hotch moved a hand towards her, thankful to note that none of them were handcuffed or bound. She flinched at his touch, letting out a small scream, and then began to sob as she accepted her boss' comfort, not needing to say anything, even if she could manage to. Hotch's heart broke to see the normally bubbly analyst so afraid. It wasn't fair for her to be caught up in whatever the hell this was. He was trying to think of something reassuring to say, when David Rossi began to stir in front of him. Aaron was thankful that he'd been the next one to wake – he could always count on Dave for calm advice, even when they were in the most frantic situations. It didn't take long for him to get his bearings, and the two men began to discuss what was going on – making sure to keep their voices low and calming, so as not to startle Garcia, who was still working on calming herself down.

"We landed, what, ten minutes ago now?" Rossi asked. Hotch nodded, though it could easily have been more.

"What I want to know is, why are we still here? Surely someone should have come by now, to check on us or take us somewhere? There's gotta be a bigger plan than just capturing the BAU and flying them around in a helicopter."

Hotch nodded again, considering Rossi's words. "Maybe they're waiting for someone, or for orders. They might not be expecting us to wake up yet, who knows what they drugged us with."

Something about Rossi's words was unsettling Hotch, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He fell into silence for a few seconds, before it hit him, followed by a second wave of panic.

"Dave, I think I know what they're waiting for."


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the super short chapter last time, I was trying to establish whether this was going to work, but I think I've got everything sorted in my brain now! People asked whether or not the rest of the team was gonna be in the story, so here's your answer

I don't own Criminal Minds or any of its characters, and unfortunately I dont intend to in the near future

Reid was the first to awaken in the second helicopter, by a jolt fairly similar to the one Hotch had felt. He assessed his situation quickly, as he had taught himself to do. JJ had her head leaning against his shoulder, still unconscious. Morgan was also unconscious, but he looked far more alert, sitting straight upright, as though he was ready to spring to action at any moment. Reid could feel the needle marks before he saw them, running tracks up his arm. They'd all been drugged. He cursed himself - for letting this happen, for allowing drugs back into his system.

How _had_ it happened? He searched for his most recent memory, and recalled walking away from the station, with JJ and Morgan beside him, behind Hotch, Rossi, Emily and Garcia. They were laughing and talking, keeping the mood light the way they normally tried to do after a particularly long case. Only, Reid couldn't remember anything about the case they'd worked. And where were the others? Rossi? Emily? Had they been taken also? Perhaps on a different helicopter –

Reid's thoughts were interrupted by loud footsteps. It sounded like boots on pebbles or gravel. _Where were they? _

A buff looking man – the helicopter pilot (and a middleman, Reid assumed) – approached the door of the chopper and yanked it open, surveying the cargo inside. Reid stared at his feet, not wanting to provoke him, but snuck quick glances over him, profiling him as rapidly as he could. He was definitely a middleman, with no real importance to – whatever _this _was. The man reached a meaty arm over and grabbed JJ by the shoulders, pushing her still-limp form out of the chopper and onto the dusty ground below. Reid made a pathetic but defiant noise, and immediately the man's head snapped up. Reid looked him straight in the eye now, trying to hold on to what little control he had. Clearly, whatever job description the helicopter had been provided with, hadn't included the handling of live hostages. But Spencer was more accustomed to the drugs than their captors had expected, and had obviously awakened ahead of schedule. For a split second, the middleman's eyes were panicked, before he regained his thoughts, and surveyed how skinny and apparently non-threatening Spencer appeared – defiant or not. After he realised this, Reid found himself being roughly shoved to the ground alongside JJ. Morgan landed a second after, a small grunting noise indicating that he was waking up. Spencer managed to push himself into a sitting position. His entire body was aching, probably from sitting in the same position for God knows how long. His eyes adjusted to the new light in time to see the middleman jump back inside the helicopter and take off, joining another which was already in the air. Spencer's eyes trailed down from the two choppers to look across the small clearing they were in. Another pile of people, semi-unconscious, lay not too far off. Reid recognised the BAU's technical analyst almost immediately by her yellow high heels and matching outfit. However nothing else about her was cheery – her chest was rising and falling rapidly and her eyes were wide. Reid made to crawl over to her, spotting three more figures lying beside her, but as he began to move, a hand reached out, grabbing him by the ankle.

"Spence?"

The jolt from being thrown to the must have woken JJ, because she was now lying half-propped up, with her hand grasping Reid's ankle. Her eyes were only just open and she seemed to be having a hard time adjusting to the bright sun. Spencer had theorised that they were on some sort of island – due to the unrelenting sunlight and tropics that surrounded their clearing. "Hey JJ," Reid said, realising how shockingly casual his greeting surrounded, considering their situation. JJ seemed to realise this too, because her lips twitched up in a humourless smile. Morgan grunted again, and Reid turned his attention to his friend, patting JJ's hand at the same time. A quick assessment of Morgan told Reid that, unlike he and JJ, Morgan had been beaten over the head with something before he'd been injected.

As Reid bent down to inspect Morgan more closely, he noticed that two of the three mystery figures on the opposite side of the clearing had got up and stumbled towards them, and now that they were closer, Reid could make them out easily. The one in the front, and nearest to him, was Aaron Hotchner, and behind him trailed Emily Prentiss. Emily went past him and straight to JJ, who still looked incredibly nervous and confused. Reid was thankful to see her, as comforting people had never been his strong suit. Over Hotch's shoulder, Reid could see Agent Rossi bent over Garcia's still-panicking form, trying to soothe her.

"Reid," said Hotch, his eyes showing a mixture of relief and fear as he scanned over the other members of his team, "are you guys okay?"

Hotch's instincts as the team leader were kicking in, and he was feeling a heavy weight of responsibility, for being unable to prevent this happening, and protect his team the way he should be able to.

"Yeah, we're fine, uh, JJ seems a little stressed out, but she just woke up about 2 minutes ago, and I think Morgan may have a concussion, but other than that…" Reid trailed off. They weren't fine. Not even remotely. Reid cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, what about you?"

"We're all unharmed, but Garcia seems to be in the early stages of a panic attack. Dave's trying to calm her down but…"

"She didn't sign on for any of this, Hotch," Reid said in a pained voice. The words sent blows straight to Hotch's heart, as he turned around and followed Reid's gaze to the terrified analyst. It was true. Garcia hadn't signed on to be in the field, or to be in any danger whatsoever. The rest of them accepted the risks that their jobs entailed, but Garcia stayed behind with her computer screens, and even then, she needed pictures of baby animals, to balance out all the evil she was exposed to. Yet somehow, _somehow_, Hotch had been unable to stop this from happening to her. He shook himself, knowing his guilt wouldn't help anyone now, and glanced at Morgan. The semi-conscious agent was sporting a significant head injury, telling Hotch that Morgan was one of the last to be overpowered, and probably put up a fight to protect both himself and the rest of the team – specifically Garcia.

"As soon as Morgan and Garcia are able we should get out of here," Hotch started, looking around the clearing. "It's too open. Once we've found shelter, preferably by nightfall, we'll have to start thinking about food, and then trying to figure a way out of here."

Reid nodded, feeling more comfortable listening to his boss spout off orders and plans. It restored some amount of normality to the otherwise completely different world they seemed to be in right now.

"We also need to figure out who put us here, and why."

Hotch had been thinking about this since he woke up. What possible motive could someone have for dumping them on an _island_ of all places? He couldn't think for the life of him any profile that would match it.

"That's the thing Hotch," Reid began nervously, "I… I think I might already know."

Sorry that the endings to both chapters seem sort of similar! I couldn't think of any other way to end it agh

I hope you like it and please feel free to review 3

I'll try to update within the next few days, but school might get in the way, so we'll see pals


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews and support pals :) You motivated me to upload way sooner than I expected you to so here you go! :) **

**I tried to make something interesting happen in this chapter, that would actually further the plot, unlike the other chapters agh sorry okay enjoy! :)**

Five minutes later, the conscious members of the team were gathered in front of Reid, with Morgan and Garcia slumped against a tree not far off. Morgan had gained enough consciousness to comfort Garcia, though Rossi's work had paid off, and the analyst had calmed considerably. The agent had an arm around her, but his head was cocked towards the others, so he could hear what Reid had to say.

"So, uh, I've been thinking about the signature and nature of our abduction – " Reid paused as he saw a dark look collectively cross over the teams' faces at the word abduction, before continuing. "- And something about it seemed familiar. Have any of you heard of _Mindhunters?" _

The rest of the team shook their heads.

"That's understandable, seeing as it received predominantly negative reception and was essentially a box office failure…"

"Reid," Hotch interrupted the young agent's rambling, giving him an all-too-familiar nod that told Reid to get to the point.

"Anyway, it's a 2004 film about a team of profilers in training who are sent – by helicopter – to an island off the coast of North Carolina to complete a profiling exercise. Soon the trainees start to die off, and essentially are taunted by their instructor… To be perfectly honest I didn't finish the movie. But the scenario is essentially the same. Profilers on an island? I mean, it could be a coincidence but…"

Hotch nodded, "it's as good a theory as any. You said they were there to complete a profiling exercise, Reid?"

"Yeah, uh, profiling a fictional killer, something like that," Reid said, screwing up his eyes. It wasn't like him not to remember something, but then, the movie hadn't been his normal taste – the fact that it had had profilers in it was the only thing that had caught his attention in the first place.

__"So maybe the unsub is planning to challenge us in the same way?" Emily offered.

"It would make sense, if he believes he's smarter than us he might feel the need to show it off." Rossi agreed. The air was growing colder by the minute, and Hotch could tell from the dimming sky that it would be dark in no less than three hours, giving them almost no time to find shelter. He glanced over at Morgan and Garcia, both of whom seemed to have recovered fairly. Garcia was as close to her normal self as she could be in this situation, with her head resting against Morgan's shoulder. Morgan still looked wobbly, but he seemed well enough to travel, and they really had no other choice.

None of the team objected to leaving the open, vulnerable clearing, though JJ seemed slightly apprehensive. Hotch remembered her saying that she had a fear of the woods, and the thick forest surrounding their clearing was daunting, even to him. Nevertheless, their choices were fairly limited, and Hotch made sure to squeeze JJ's shoulder as she walked past him.

Rossi took the lead as the team trekked through the forest. Being an experienced hunter meant he had a fair understanding of the wilderness and how to survive. His heart was in his throat as he led them carefully through the undergrowth. He'd been trying his best to maintain a calm demeanour, as he always did, but his fear for himself and his team was rising as he was left to his own thoughts in the silence. The rest of the team walked in identical states of brooding quiet. Reid followed Rossi closely, keeping in mind that the movie had featured a fair amount of traps and tripwires. He kept his eyes glued to the ground, for fear that Rossi would plunge through a hidden wire in his haste to find shelter before nightfall, and blow them all up before anyone even knew what was happening.

They walked until the sky faded from grey to an inky blue, and in the dense forest the trees masked the final shreds of light. The mood amongst the team had grown direr than it had already been – if that was even possible – as the idea that they may be stuck in the woods overnight began to sink in.

"We could climb a tree?" JJ suggested lamely, "look for possible shelter from a higher vantage point?"  
Even as she said it she knew it wouldn't help. Even if any of them, in their exhausted and fearful state, could scale the smooth, branchless trunks of the trees, it was already far too dark to see further than a few feet around them.

JJ was thinking about Henry. How long had they been gone? One night? Longer? She wondered how many nights it would be before she got to see him again. How many nights would it take before he stopped believing that she was "just busy"? And Will? How many nights in a row would he have to lie to their son? The questions made JJ's heart hurt, and all of a sudden she was filled with a burning desire to escape, followed by an iron-strong will to survive, and get back to her boys.

As if he'd read her mind, Hotch appeared by her side. JJ turned to look at him, and saw her own expression reflected in his features. Pain, longing, determination and anxiety, all rolled into one and shoved behind a passive mask. But JJ was too familiar with the feelings to be fooled by Hotch's attempts to hide them.

"Are you thinking about Jack?" she asked, swallowing a sudden urge to sob. Hotch nodded silently, and JJ felt his hand on her shoulder. It was an unexpected gesture, as her boss wasn't normally the hands-on comforting type, but she welcomed it.

"We're going to get out of here JJ," he said quietly, not wanting to disturb the tired silence that the others were maintaining, "not just for us, but for them."

JJ could have sworn she saw a tear in the corner of his eye, but she put it down to a trick of the light, quickly and deliberately turning in the other direction.

The team fell back into complete silence, though the occasional whispered comment could be heard between Morgan and Garcia in the back of the group. By the time moonlight dappled the ground, distorted by the branches of the trees above them, they had fallen into a sombre and mutual hopelessness. Hotch was preparing to stop them, and announce that they'd have to make do where they are and carry on in the morning, when the woods began to break away, thinning out into a clearing similar to the one they'd started in, but with one significant difference: shelter.

A small building, not unlike army barracks, sat in the middle of the clearing. It was simple, built entirely of concrete, with only holes where the windows and door should be, but it was shelter. Rossi and Reid all but ran to it, feeling almost giddy with relief. JJ and Emily let out identical, relieved laughs, and Garcia wrapped her arms around Morgan. Hotch sighed, feeling as though one out of a thousand weights had been lifted off his shoulders. It crossed his mind that this had been almost too easy, but he dismissed the thought – it could wait until morning. 

**So there it is! Hope you liked it. I don't think I'm going to write any ships into the story, because I want to focus on the general family vibe of the team, but I did include a few cute moments between JJ and Hotch, and I'm sure there'll be more between them and other characters in the future! Sorry that there wasn't much of Emily in this chapter, I'm not particularly good at writing her, but I'm definitely going to make her a much bigger part of the story so just wait! Hope you enjoyed it pals! :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for your reviews guys! Sorry sorry sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been super stressed with school and everything and I haven't had time to type everything up. I've written a few more chapters though, it's just a matter of getting them off paper and onto my computer, so hopefully I'll update more quickly next time! Hope you enjoy! (I'll probably change the rating soon, as it's getting slightly darker/heavier I hope)**

Surprisingly, the entire team slept through the night, proving how exhausted they had all been, seeing as the sleeping arrangements had been far from comfortable.

The building they had stumbled upon the night before was completely bare, aside from a narrow wooden bench that stuck out from the wall, and ran around the outsides of both 'rooms'. The 'rooms' were two square blocks on either side of the door, each with its own window. Hotch, Rossi, Reid and Morgan had slept in one block, while JJ, Emily and Garcia took the other. The chill through the windows had been harsh and unavoidable, with nothing but the clothes they'd been taken in to keep them warm. Because of this, and the fact that the bench wasn't the most accommodating sleep furniture, the team was feeling particularly stiff and achy.

However, all of them had managed to sleep, and they'd woken up, though sore and afraid, prepared for what the day would bring.

They were all hungry – starving in fact – but their glorious shelter from the night before bore no food.

"Look, the forests must have some animals. Let me at least try and find something?"

The team was gathered on the girls' side of the bunk, trying to map out what their next move should be. Hotch shook his head, feigning off Rossi's persistent pleads to split up and attempt to hunt and gather.

"This isn't any normal situation," Hotch kept insisting, "we stick together. Nobody goes anywhere alone until we know what's happening here."

"Well, this guy's obviously a narcissist. He's big on theatrics I mean, helicopters? A freaking island? He's going out of his way to feed whatever fantasy this is, and he's making a huge point of doing so." Emily sighed. She had to be impressed with the efforts this Unsub had gone to, no matter how bad their situation was.

"So Reid thinks this guy's trying to mimic some movie?" Morgan asked.

Reid nodded. "Well, I mean, that's where the idea could have originated from. The Unsub could have seen the movie and twisted the idea until it matched his own fantasies, but the concept is more or less the same: Fly a team of profilers out to an island and… Challenge them."

"But… So far we've had no contact from the Unsub himself. Middlemen flew both helicopters, and he's made no effort to send any kind of message…"

As JJ pointed this out, Hotch realised she was right.

"It is strange," he said, "that someone this narcissistic and bold wouldn't feel the need to contact us – at the very least to gloat about what he's done."

"Unless he's waiting for the right time. He might not even be able to reach us until we're in a specific area. We are on an island remember, he can't control everything."

"He got us here," Rossi pointed out, "that can't have been a coincidence."

"But then why-" Hotch began, but before he could finish he was interrupted by a quiet voice.

"Why does it matter?"

Garcia, who had remained silent behind Morgan while the team profiled, now looked up at them with fearful and defeated eyes. Her normal cheerfulness and colour was nowhere to be seen, as the dirt of the forest had dulled her bright yellow outfit, and her heels had been discarded early in the trek.

"W-why does it matter?" she repeated in a shaky voice, "Why do we need to know the reasons and the motive? Why aren't we thinking about how we're gonna escape? Or, or survive? Knowing why isn't going to matter when we –" she broke off, choking back a sob.

"Come here baby girl," Morgan said softly, placing his arms around her. The nickname calmed her, but she kept sobbing into his shirt. JJ crouched down next to the pair and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Garcia, it matters because we need to know what we're up against so we can beat this guy."

"We're going to get out of this." Hotch said suddenly, speaking not only to Garcia but also to the whole team. "We're going to stick together, and get out alive, unhurt and safe. We've been in bad situations before, but we're a family, and if we've proved anything we've proved that we know how to protect each other. As long as we're together and acting as a team, we're going to get out of this."

The team nodded, and Hotch could see JJ biting her lip, as she normally did to stop herself from crying. Emily was smiling, though her fists were clenched tight in worry and fear as she gazed at her boss and her team. Rossi met Hotch's eye, with an assuring look that he'd said absolutely the right thing.

_"__Touching."_

Emily jumped out of her skin, making Garcia squeal. Her hand reached instinctively for her hip, only to realise that her gun wasn't there. The rest of their team leapt to their feet most of them copying her habitual reach for their guns, frantically scanning the room, trying to find the source of the sudden, haunting voice that could only belong to the Unsub.

_"__Far right corner," _the voice offered. Reid turned and pointed at a small silver speaker embedded in the wall, completely disguised by the light grey of the concrete. Above it, was a steel grey camera, sitting in the corner, with the perfect vantage point to hear and see everything the team was doing and saying. Hotch remembered what he'd thought last night about the discovery of the building being too easy. Here was the proof.

_"__Congratulations members of the BAU," _the voice cooed. The speaker crackled every few seconds, adding a menacing horror movie element to everything that came out of it.

_"__Your preliminary profile is, in no uncertain terms, a masterpiece. Spot on, in fact. Well, I mean, I don't know what I expected. Everyone says you're the best. You're living up to that so far."_

"So far?" Rossi asked. He stared directly into the camera, his posture almost threatening, but he made sure to keep his voice calm, maintain control and all that. The rest of the team stepped back, watching the hostage negotiator in Rossi take over. "Does that mean you've got more plans for us?"

The Unsub laughed, but instead of answering Rossi's question, he moved on.

"_You might want to consider relocating, Agents," _he said, and Hotch could hear the cocky smile in his words. _"I'm sure you're all hungry… I can assure you, you won't find any food where you are now."_

The team heard a final laugh, before a crackle told them that the Unsub had disconnected, and they settled into a dark and brooding silence, broken only by the sound of Morgan punching the concrete wall.

**That's it this time! I hope you guys all enjoyed it, sorry if my attempt to write a profile was sort of off, I'm in no way a professional profiler, so I was just going off my extensive knowledge of the show ;) Also sorry if my attempt to put a 'Hotch motivating the team' moment in there seemed sort of out of place. I just really wanted to write one, as this is supposed to be a completely team-family based fic. I'll update sooner next time I promise! Don't forget to review etc. I love reading your opinions **


	5. Chapter 5

**I. AM. SO. SORRY. I know people tell me a lot in reviews to not apologise for short or late chapters but I honestly feel so bad for neglecting you and this story :((( I kept abandoning it and starting new stories and I should have updated way before now so I'm so so sorry and I really hope it won't happen again :(**

**ANYWAY, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I've written it and re-written it about 400 times and I think it's pretty good. Also, speaking of my other stories, if you're waiting for this story to update and you want something else to read, check out my other stories! I'm trying to update them all way way way more often, so I'd definitely recommend it! Ok, happy reading my dears! xx**

They sat in silence for a while – a silence that no member of the team objected to. They were all thinking, contemplating. The air in the dingy stone room was thick and heavy with their fear, and the silence was their way of telling each other they understood. After what seemed like an hour, Hotch drew in a deep breath and, very hesitantly, spoke up.

"I hate to say it, but he's probably right," he said. His voice sounded defeated, and it was clear that he'd been searching for something – _any_ other alternative to doing what the unsub said. But, he'd come up empty, and the rest of the team knew as well as he did that they _would_ starve if they stayed here. For what must have been the hundredth time, Hotch looked over each of his team and his shoulders almost visibly slumped with worry and concern. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want any of them to be here. But here they were, on an island in the middle of nowhere, following the orders of a deranged narcissist. Excellent. Hotch almost laughed. The situation was just too goddamned bizarre.

"If we stay here, we'll starve." He continued, watching their faces carefully. "But if we keep moving now, we might make it to another place – somewhere with food – before it gets dark."

Garcia's eyes had started to swell with fear at the mention of travelling again, especially with the impending threat of nightfall, but Morgan whispered something in her ear, making her relax slightly.

"This guy, for whatever twisted reason, wants us alive. And no matter what he has in store for us, I'd say we'd be better at outsmarting that than we will be at trying to outsmart starvation. Better to play to our strengths, I guess."

The team nodded, and began shifting in preparation to leave. As they set off, Rossi pulled forward to walk beside Hotch.

"Why _does _he want us alive?" he asked curiously. The older agent's tone suggested that he didn't expect a real answer to his question; still, he kept his voice hushed, so as to not upset the others.

"I'm not sure, but if Reid's theory about the movie is right, he might be trying to… Test us in some way."

"Makes sense. Remember what he said about 'not knowing what he'd expected?' He was almost praising our preliminary profile… But the real question is; what's he testing us for?"

Hotch sighed heavily, sweeping his gaze over the rest of the members of his team. He hadn't even thought about it like that.

"I wish I had an answer, Dave."

They trudged on much like they had done on the first day, in sad and complete silence, partly because of their dire situation and obvious need to be alone with their thoughts, and partly because many of them thought that if they actually talked, their breathing would become so difficult that they would collapse from exhaustion. Somewhere along the track, the ground had begun to slope uphill, and the team, weary from the sun and the lack of food, were just about ready to give up.

Hotch had dropped to the back, letting Morgan take the lead. He seemed to be coping the most, but even he needed Emily to stop him from falling over when the track took an unexpected turn, forcing him to stop and get his bearings. Everybody's heads were spinning, swirling, trying to keep their blurry eyes focussed on the way forward. If they stopped, Hotch knew, there would be no getting started again, and so he had taken up the rear, prompting Garcia and Reid gently, with well-placed words of encouragement that would not make them feel weak.

The sun was beating down on them, having reached its peak around midday. It seemed impossible to go any further. Everything in Hotch's body was either burning or shutting down, and at this point, he couldn't tell which was worse. He breathed in deeply, just about to announce that they had to take a break, no longer caring about whether or not they'd be able to get up afterward, when he heard a call.

Morgan, at the head of the pack, was leaping up and down in delight, wrapping JJ in his arms. As the joy travelled down the line, Hotch could see the others doubling over, choking back tears. Optimism surged through his veins, forcing his tired bones forward to where Morgan and JJ were standing, holding each other in pure ecstasy, and gazing down on a clearing – and right in the middle of this clearing, there was a building - a fucking_ building._

But this wasn't a shack or a bungalow, like the tiny trap they'd taken shelter in for the night. It was huge – about the size of a tennis court in perimeter, and had a full roof. If he hadn't been so exhausted, Hotch would have broken down into tears there and then. The relief was giddying. Sure, they all knew that the unsub wanted them here, and for a reason, but at least it was more than the lost confusion they had felt not two minutes previously.

_'__Let him do it.' _Hotch found himself thinking. _'Let him try and test us, or whatever the hell he wants to do with us. Let him. See how well that works out for him… We'll fight this. Whatever he thinks he's got planned… We can do better.'_

Hotch sighed, following his team down the steep hill toward the building. He only hoped they were ready for this… Whatever this was.

For one night – a single, blissful night, the team slept soundly. Weariness had overwhelmed them to the point that their minds had blurred out the fact that the beds they had found within the sanctuary of four walls and a roof, were in fact placed there, perfectly and strategically, by the unsub. Hotch had had time to notice, before he too, was washed away by his drowsiness, that none of the beds were in the same room. If he'd been sharper, maybe paid more attention, or said something at the time… Maybe he wouldn't be feeling the way he did now. But he hadn't. And he did.

For one night, the team had slept. They had shed the worries and the stress of their situation, and they had fell into a sleep that spread comfort throughout them all. And in the morning, they were woken by a bloodcurdling scream.

Hotch had been on his feet before the scream had ended. He realised in that moment, that he should have said something about the bed layout. He twisted through rooms, trying simultaneously to decipher whose scream he'd heard, and remember which room everyone was sleeping in. Eventually, he whipped around a corner, catching a glimpse of Reid as he went, and saw the source of the scream. Or rather – _didn't_ see her. His blood went cold. Derek Morgan was slumped against the wall, knocked out for the second time in two days, and the bed that he and Garcia had shared together the night before was empty. Gears turned in Hotch's head, connecting the scream to Garcia's voice, realising what must have happened…

Before he could turn around and check on the rest of the team, a loudspeaker similar to the one in the bungalow crackled from the wall, citing only one, horrific sentence in its vile, taunting voice:

"_People won't behave if they have nothing to lose."_

**THANKS FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME. Once again I'm so sorry about the late upload :( Please don't forget to review, as it is literally the most motivating thing ever and motivation is something I really need right now! Thank you so much for reading, love you all xx **


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't have much time to write an intro or anything, because I really wanna get this up for you guys to read, so basically, I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway! x**

Hotch went numb. Every cell in his body was willing him to keep calm – to problem solve or think rationally… His eyes whirred around the room, taking in the sight. The unsub's words crackled around in his brain, mocking him.

_"__People won't behave if they have nothing to lose."_

He felt his fists clench into balls as he stared at the empty bed, and at his agent slumped against the wall. He hardly noticed when Reid and JJ rushed into the room. He could feel JJ behind him, breathing heavily as she took in the scene in front of her. Reid, however, rushed to Morgan without a second thought. He hadn't seen the empty bed, or stopped to realise what had happened… In a way, Hotch was glad for that. There would be a period where Reid could focus his energy solely on the injured agent, the one they could help.

As usual, Rossi was the one to snap Hotch out of his daze.

"Aaron!" Dave called, causing Hotch to look up. His vision snapped into focus, and he could feel his mind begin to work again. He glanced around at the team. 

Morgan, under Reid's care, was slowly coming to, and both agents were beginning to take in the scene around them, and realising what had happened. Reid's face paled as he slumped against the wall in shock, next to Morgan, who was rapidly growing more distressed. Hotch turned to JJ and Emily, who stood close together, glancing up at the ceiling and walls.

"How could this have HAPPENED?" Hotch heard Morgan shout. "I was right here… How did I _let _this happen?"

"This unsub lured us here for his own plan." Hotch said, speaking directly to Morgan in a calm voice, surprising even himself with his ability to keep a level head. "He's clearly been working on this for months – years even. He would have predicted that you and Garcia would be in the same room, and he would have been completely prepared for it. How could you have fought back against something that's been planned so meticulously?"

"Why did we even come here then?" Morgan snapped, his voice unnaturally harsh. "Why the hell did we set ourselves up for his plan?"

Hotch took a deep breath. He knew he had to remain calm, and that the fiery agent's anger wasn't directed at him.

"He planned that too. There was no other way. We would have died within days if we didn't come here. You know that."

"_We _didn't die, but Garcia –"

" – Is alive." Rossi cut in suddenly. Every head in the room turned to focus on the older agent as he stepped forward.

"Listen, the voice on the intercom said 'people won't behave if they have nothing to lose,' right? Well, it sounds to me like Garcia is the thing we risk losing."

"He's right," Reid agreed, "he's got no use for her if she's dead. Everything he's done so far has had a purpose, and this isn't any different."

Morgan nodded slowly, and settled back into silence. Hotch could tell what the rest of the team was thinking – he was thinking it too. Sure, Garcia might be alive. But was alive and being used as a bargaining chip to make them do whatever the unsub wanted really that preferable? He shuddered. Whoever this guy was, he must have been watching them long enough to know that Morgan and Garcia would sleep together, and that the team would do anything to keep her safe.

Just as he was about to bring this point up, the loudspeaker crackled again.

_"__So" _The voice warbled, "_now that that's over, and I'm sure you know what's at stake, the real fun can begin." _

Morgan mumbled something under his breath, clenching his fists.

"_What was that, Agent Morgan? I'm sorry, you'll have to speak up…"_

Morgan said nothing, and he remained staring blankly at the wall below the intercom, squeezing his fingers together in a tight fist.

_"__Very well. Now, I know you're all wondering what you're doing here, and of course, where your darling technical analyst is…"_

"_Give her back," _Hotch wanted to say. He wanted to scream it, into the echoing, humid air. He wanted to drive his fists into the concrete walls. He wanted the unsub to be able to hear him, from wherever the hell he was, not just through the speakers. He wanted _Garcia _to be able to hear him. He wanted to scream, _"I'm sorry," _or_ "we'll find you," _or_ "don't hurt her." _He wanted to promise and threaten and intimidate the voice on the other end of those _goddamned _speakers.

Instead, Hotch said nothing.

Years of training, years of profiling, had taught each and every member of the team, that the last thing they should do is antagonise an egotistical unsub. But it was the first thing – the only thing, any of them wanted to do at that moment. And the strength they required to keep silent was beginning to drive them all insane.

The voice laughed. JJ thought to herself, as she sat, half-curled up on what had been Garcia's bed for the night that she would never get that laugh out of her head. Not for as long as she lived – however long that may be.

"_You never fail to impress me." _He chimed, and Hotch detected a strange tone in his voice… Was that pride? Love, even? _"Don't antagonise the unsub, right? It'll be interesting to see how that goes for you…" _

_"__Anyway… I'm getting bored of the introduction phase… It's time to move on to the task at hand."_

"And what might that be?" asked Hotch, speaking up at last. He didn't want to antagonise the unsub, but he also didn't want to be tortured by the sound of his voice for any longer than he had to be.

"_I'm glad you asked Agent Hotchner! Or can I call you Hotch?" _

Once again, Hotch lapsed into a tense and difficult silence, his face set in a stony glare. At this point, there were unsure about whether the unsub could see them, or whether he could just hear them. Hotch maintained the belief that he must have cameras somewhere. The plan was too perfect, and everything so well set out. If he had wanted cameras, he'd have cameras.

"_The rules are simple. In the main room, you'll find case files. If you solve the case, you'll get rewarded. If you don't…"_

Every agent in the room seemed to cripple or double over as a scream pierced through the speakers on the walls. Morgan's expression seemed to crumple as he heard his best friend's voice, filled with pain, panting between shrieks, begging for it to stop. It was so sudden, so unexpected, that they couldn't keep up their calm demeanour. Emily and JJ reached for each other, each gripping the other's hand tightly. Reid winced and dropped to the ground, almost rocking back and forth. Rossi's hands flew to his ears, trying as hard as he could not to yell out. Morgan and Hotch both seemed to yell simultaneously.

"ALL RIGHT." Hotch yelled, as Morgan yelled "LEAVE HER ALONE."

The screaming stopped. The room echoed ominously, and there was a peculiar ringing, that was almost louder than the sound they'd been hearing. The silence gave them the comfortable environment they needed, in order to reflect on what they'd just heard, and what he'd just said. If they didn't solve the case, he'd do that – whatever that was – to Garcia again. The air in the room hung heavy with guilt, and a strong feeling of responsibility. But underneath that, they once again felt the fiery spark of determination, this time lit with a fuelling anger, and protectiveness for their strong, beautiful friend. Nothing would stop them from solving this.

_"__There are a few other rules… Do not break any of my property. As you can imagine, I've spent a lot of time and effort trying to make sure you are… As comfortable as possible… And, what sort of guest damages their host's property? Also, no cheating." _He chuckled a bit at this, before continuing, "_I'm sure you won't need to, but you never know. I want to see your skills. No cutting corners." _

The speakers crackled slightly, making a sound that reminded Morgan of a horror movie he and his friends had snuck in to see when they were 12.

Then, in a final spark, they started up again, projecting the words into the room.

_"__Follow these rules, and we won't have a problem. Break them and… Of course…"_

The team knew what was coming before it hit. Their yells of protest met the screams of Garcia – too loud to be contained by the speaker volume – in a dreadful unity of noise, which rose into a horrendous crescendo. Tears streamed down the faces of Reid and Morgan, as well as the two women. Hotch, despite the horror of the sound, and the fragility of his ears, kept himself from blocking out the noise. This is what would fuel him. This is what would keep him going, and drive him to find her, to save her, and get them all out of this mess. The sound in the room began echoing off the walls, becoming overwhelming. It was so loud, the loudest and most terrible noise they'd ever heard. Tortured screams, and screams for mercy, not just from Garcia, but from the team as well.

And then it stopped.

Not just the screaming, but also everything other sound. The speaker shut off in a sudden and staggering click. The team's voices died out almost altogether, the final sounds coming in ragged and raspy breaths, and the room lapsed into an almost more-painful state of white noise, broken only by hyperventilation, and the occasional choked back sob.

They were silent.

There was nothing to say.

**That's it for now! Like I said, I don't have much time, but please please please, if it's possible, leave a review and follow (or even favourite!) this story if you enjoy it! It really does mean the world to me to read comments from people who enjoy what I've written, and I just appreciate it so much! And also I'd love to know where you think the story might be going/what you think might happen, and what you want to happen!**

**Also, if you're interested (i say this after every story I know I'm sorry but hey) I do have two other stories that are very similar to this one, so make sure to check them out!**

**As always, I love you all, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter, new chapters coming soon I hope! xx **


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